For All I Care
by AllAboardTheRollyJoger
Summary: Killian is believed to be dead after a trip at sea one morning, and Emma believes so too, but when danger comes along a few years later, she comes to know that a stranger she had met at that time has quite the good choice of words. Happy ending Captain Swan
1. Uno: he's departured

**Prompt: Killian is believed to be dead after a trip at sea one morning, and Emma believes so too, but when danger comes along a few years later, she comes to know that a stranger she had met at that time has quite the good choice of words. Happy ending Captain Swan, but I wouldn't blame you if you thought this was a character-dies-boohoo story. Tinge of adventure, angst, humor and fluff, for other genres.**

**A/N: 'Ello guys! How are you doing today, or tonight, or… this afternoon? Hopefully awesome. This is a little fic I chose to write before going to camp (which starts Monday, mind you, and today's Saturday where I am, so I chose to write it early and, quite frankly, quickly) so I wanted to write a little something after writing some of my other story, The Thief of Many Things. (UPDATE 31****st**** of July: I was previously going to make this a drabble and all, but it ended up being WAY too long for one of those, so I had to separate the story into bits, ending up a three-shot and an epilogue and I posted this pretty late ;p;) **

**You see, that is my first and only story I've written in FanFiction, so I wanted to prove myself wrong and say, "Hey, you actually wrote a finished story and published it!", because I am currently writing 7 other future stories, plus the chapters for The Thief of Many Things.**

**This story is based on the book/movie, The Princess Bride. Tacos to you who've read/seen it. I personally haven't, but plan to for my Christmas present, because Wikipedia only goes so far to tell you how a book goes.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, profit, or make real canon to ABC's OUAT, Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House series, or William Goldman's The Princess Bride. PEASANT AHOY!**

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…

**For All I Care**

…

Curse her for reading The Princess Bride.

Curse her for watching the movie as well.

But most of all, curse her for having the idea of kissing the bloody pirate anyway.

Nevertheless, she was stupid enough to suck face with the major flirt five more than three times. And if she were Henry, it would be 'yolo' all day long.

"_Damn bar wench-" _Being timely correct, that was the first time that they'd kissed, but not truly, as he wasn't exactly the pirate she knew all the time they'd been together.

"_Aye-" _When she found out that Killian traded her ship for her, there was a deep emotional surge inside of her, and so they kissed outside of Granny's, unbeknownst to Henry's smug gaze.

"_Son of a bitch-" _ Stupid family-protecting man got himself drowned by Gold. Well, he didn't have to know that Emma was never so concerned in her life. Especially for his sake.

"_I could make you-" _ When Killian had appeared in New York outside her apartment and kissed her, she'd allowed herself to melt for a moment under this 'stranger''s touch, but soon enough regained herself and made a nutshot.

"_Perhaps you were the one who couldn't handle it-" _The true first time they'd locked lips, and _maybe _she wanted to correct him in the cave when he 'admitted' he kissed her. Emma was very thankful for no smug-ness or any of his usual banter; she'd wanted to retort that she'd initiated the kiss and that David would kill him if he didn't. Stupid polite pirate.

But the words that really stuck that day were, "As you wish," as she left him behind her, ordering him to 'go get some firewood or something'.

I mean, it couldn't be possible that he'd watched The Princess Bride as well, could he?

Seriously, even the time he had hung out with Henry and Roland for the day and they'd asked if they could watch something on a contraption called a 'TV', onto which Killian raised an eyebrow at this 'remote' and tried to pour some rum on it ("Never once have I seen in my life something that _wouldn't _go right without rum!" he had exclaimed defensively).

No, of course he hadn't. Perhaps he actually _had _always been a gentleman.

Or, as Emma gazed out the window with Killian hugging her from behind, placing a smile on her face, maybe he had always been good on words.

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…

"W-what?" Emma asked in horror.

"I-I'm sorry Emma," Mulan appeared, carrying Killian's hook. She'd been sailing with him, David, Victor and Tink in search of major villains they'd heard was going to go after Storybrooke next after taking Camelot, their names Jack and Annie, Morgan le Fay's prized protégés. But after claiming being Master Librarian's weren't their true destiny to wielding magic, they had turned dark under the influence of greed and hunger.

Tink had been the duo's prisoner in Neverland, as they had travelled across the realms to stay forever young with Pan, the evil twits stealing some pixie dust, some Pegasus feathers from the Indians and keeping some hostages on their treehouse, including Tink. She had ignored telling her new associates in Storybrooke out of loss of memory, but upon meeting Hook, she'd recalled once again what they were up to, as their 'secret' plans they made weren't so secret, and she'd stolen the battle plan papers before escaping.

After long days at sea travelling realm to realm, searching for Jack and Annie, they'd won, but had lost a warrior in the process.

"Hoo- Killian's gone, Miss Swan." The Chinese warrior had patted her on the shoulder comfortingly, before Emma stepped away from the sad group of people who had come to inform her on the loss. "He truly died a hero." David tried. "He was my friend, my mate; killed by a monster we call mankind."

"I-I, I know you love him-" said Mary Margaret with a queenly look in her eyes.

"I still do," whispered the blonde to her brokenly.

"-But part of loving something is to let it go as fast as when you first fell in love. Killian wouldn't want you to be down like this."

"I know, mom. I-I just- never got to say goodbye. Never got to say the things I wanted to. Never got to do the things I aimed to do with him- not like that, dad." She began sadly, but stiffened up at the look David gave her as she began the second part of her sentence. She was an adult, she was allowed to do whatever she pleased, appropriate or not, but she guessed she could just take it as a compliment towards his fatherly love towards her. All he wanted was that she would be same.

"I'll get through. See you tomorrow, guys."

"But-" All they met was a closed door, and Emma's walls once again higher than Mt. Everest.

Sobs wracked her body as she held on tightly to Killian's necklace he'd given her before he'd left.

"_Keep this for a while. It's me in there, you see, Swan," he pointed to one of the many keychain-like things, one of them a crystal cross, with slight dirt on it, and another a small, wooden pirate ship. He touched the cross first. "I was once someone with glass-like features, pure, kind hearted and full of blasted good form, but after everything that happened to me-" Killian averted his eyes to the little boat, "I became a pirate."_

"_My pirate." Emma replied cheekily before giving him a peck on the lips._

"_A foolish one, at that." Killian chuckled. _

_He returned to his tale of the necklace he wore. "But once I met you, I was transparent one again, __**perceptive**__, really." He raised his voice a bit on the word 'perceptive', reminiscing the times on the beanstalk. "I became a fragment of crystal once more. And that's what I love about you, Emma." _

_And with a chaste kiss on her lips, he left a taste on her tongue that no-one could ever make her forget before stepping foot on 'The Journeying Dawn', his new ship._

She remembered his last words to her as she cried herself to sleep on the cold tiles of the kitchen floors.

"I will never love again."

Emma sinks her head into the crook of her legs in despair.

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**2 YEARS LATER~**

Darkness.

Bitter darkness engulfed her inside the cage she was put inside by Jack and Annie.

What was she thinking, trying to avenge her lost love, just like he did?

It was quite the foolish plan, and had gotten Ruby, Robin and Regina into the mix as well, them sitting right next to her as her new cell-mates.

Once in jail, always in jail, Emma thought to herself glumly, peering out to look at the smirking faces of the evil children. Must've been Pan-fans as well under his influence in their time in Neverland. "Silly people, you think you can defeat us?" Jack laughs harshly. "With our wits and magic we acquired over the years, we will destroy you, just-" the boy sweeps a finger over the bars of the cell to point at Emma, "-like we destroyed your irritating _True Love, _Emma_._" He says disgustedly. Annie laughs wickedly behind him.

"Very much, Jack. We'll deal with them in the morning. Morgan's scroll is almost finished." She takes him by the arm and leads them out when the blonde emits a yell from behind them.

"What the hell would you kids know about True Love if you haven't even reached past puberty?"

The two narrow their eyes and use their magic to transport themselves to Emma's front in mere seconds, each armed with a sharp blade in their hands. "Puberty isn't the deal here. Really, we're more than 50 years older than you after staying with Peter for a few decades." Annie sticks the blade under Emma's chin after Jack raises his hand full of magic to fasten her down with invisible wires with a diabolical look in his small, beady eyes behind the glasses. "Being a child has many more pros than you think, Swan-girl. You just have no idea because you're less powerful thank we are, thanks to Morgan, our _beloved _enchantress."

The little girl rolls her eyes and secures her look into a glare. "And if you dare try to defeat us she-wolf, queen, pickpocket and savior, all residents of Storybrooke will fall. All because of your bitter stupidity. It _was, _after all, your idea to try and knock us down. Now do you see where that got you, sweet cheeks?" She cackled.

"My laugh is _way _better." Muttered Regina behind her.

"And I'm way more than a she-wolf, I'm a person." Ruby rolled her eyes.

"And I'm a hero, I pickpocket for the poor, you idiotic children-" began Robin.

"Shut up, you twits," snapped Jack, releasing Emma with a flick of his wrist, and upon falling to the ground was held up once again by the group of friends in concern as she coughed briefly. "At least _we're _not the ones in the cage like zoo animals."

"Well I'm certainly not a zebra, am I?" asked a voice from behind the duo.

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**MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA CLIFFIES! Anyhow, I hoped you enjoyed this little start to what is a three-shot! If you enjoyed, please leave a little review for me, or quite possibly a muffin, or fav/follow! I would really appreciate it!**

**TO ZEBRAS AND CLIFFIES!**


	2. Due: but the arrival of the new hero

**A/N: Thanks for all the love, guys! Means a lot to me, so much that even **_**I **_**can't understand ;D Please review, fav or follow if you loved this chapter, guys! Even one review can make my heart sing! (I'm a cheesy dork, I know)**

**Disclaimer: Mine? Nopity nope nope. I also don't profit from where I based this story on, including the Magic Tree House series/musical (yes, there IS a musical. My childhood exists!) and The Princess Bride book/movie. Thanks, ladies and gents, now here's the story you've been waitin' for!**

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…

Everyone turned to see who it was, to see a manly figure all in blue, excluding the black masquerade mask on his face which was decorated with blue and green sea-like spirals around its curvy frame. This person certainly couldn't be from Camelot, or any other realm than where Henry had come from. It didn't seem like people in that age really frequented on zoos.

"Who the heck are you supposed to be?" Jack sneered at the tall man in distaste.

"Shouldn't be of any use to you to know my name," the mask muffled his voice quite the bit, but it was still audible and clear enough for the people to hear. "And if you are so, how did you put it? 'Full of wit'? I believe it would be no challenge to compete against me in exchange for the release of these poor prisoners, am I right?"

Inside the cage…

"Seems legit-"

"Not another protagonist!"

"Why would someone want to free us, especially someone we don't even know-"

"Foolishness!"

"Shut up, we have something to deal with already," Annie turns her head sharply to aim a glare at the four of them before turning back to the Blue-Guy. "Why, I wonder, would you want to free the annoying little beasts we have to slay tomorrow?"

Blue-Guy shrugs, and for some reason Emma can sense a smirk on his face. "So that's a 'no' to being witty, though? Shame."

"Oh, really? Then I guess you wouldn't give up on a duel between you and my best knight, right?" Jack challenges, and with a twist of yellow and white smoke when Annie raises her hand, conjuring a ghostly spirit in front of them from the ground, an Elizabethan knight with a complete set of armour and sword. From his boot, Blue-Dude retrieved a golden sword with the initials 'KJ' welded on its blade as he ran in through the knight's side effortlessly in front of them. "That was your best knight?" he asked mockingly.

The knight dissipated, sinking back into the ground and the two gritted their teeth in fury.

"I'm the fighter here," Jack took off his glasses, handing them to Annie confidently. "But I don't use weapons. Hand-to-hand combat is my deal. I took karate anyways." He held out his fists readily.

"For like two days," muttered Annie behind him.

Jack took the first attack with a kick, which was easily deflected by the man's right hand, as his left hand was shoved in his pocket. He growled and went for a punch. That one got disarmed as well. This went on and on until little Jack got tired and Annie got too impatient and so the boy passed out.

The group in the cage laughed so hard that their sides hurt.

"Stupid. And I thought _I_ was the _younger _one." She shook her head in disappointment at her brother on the floor, and conjured a wooden bed with her hands full of magic and set him down upon the mattress carefully. "Huh," she turned to Blue-Dude. "No matter. I still have to deal with you, idiot."

"Right. And what shall this challenge be, milady?"

"A game of poisons, as you did indeed say something about wit." The girl says simply, and a table of bottles appeared in front of her and the man, with quaint chairs to go with it as she sat. "No man of your age should deny some fine liquor, am I right? Of course, I look too young to drink, but, you know, Neverland."

He nods stiffly and looks among the bottles. He finally spots a canteen full of rum, and drinks it heartily, just as Annie laughs in humourless deception. "Did you _really _think I was talking about some useless drinking? I meant _actual _poison, you fool." She smiles maliciously into his eyes, to which the prisoners cry out in anguish and desperation, as they thought this 'hero' would come to save the day.

The blonde pigtailed girl smiled triumphantly as she grabbed a random bottle made out of pink glass. "_This _is the correct bottle, simple liquor. The drink you just put down your throat, along with all these other poisons? It carries a sleeping curse that goes on seemingly forever unless you inject yourself with a needle of sea-slug juice, carried only in Atlantis, which you shall never get to in time on your own, you stupid git. Oh how smart am I!"

She took a sip from the bottle, mockingly holding her bottle up for the 'cheers', which was sure to emit from her, but Annie just stared off into spaced, frowned slightly and fell to the ground in horror filled eyes.

The caged cheered in happiness as the blue-dressed man retrieved a key from Jack's necklace which he took without effort, and used it to unlock to four of them. They each gave their 'thank you's' to the man in turn before he asked the group a question. "Who among you can wield magic?" Emma and Regina raised their hands slowly. "Brilliant,"

He threw the ex-Evil Queen a silver locket and a scroll made of golden parchment. "You place the locket around the magician you want to strip of their powers and say this incantation on the parchment in your minds, focusing on the sole feeling of love or hatred, or both I suppose. I got this from Merlin when I helped him retrieve his wand while in another dimension." He explains. "Here's another one for you, lass." Emma caught a golden version of the identical locket in mid-air and nodded towards the man.

She walked over to the lifeless-seeming body of Jack on the bed, and placed the necklace around the boy's neck and read the incantation in her head, closing her eyes in concentration. A bright blue-green light shone, and all she had to do was…

…Think about the strongest emotions in the world.

_Think, Emma, think._

Got it.

Killian.

Hatred at whoever took him away from her.

Love to the man she thought of most every single day.

Hatred to the situation.

Love to the memories she still had of him.

Hatred to why, why the world had brought this upon her.

Love to what a hero the pirate was before she'd never see him again.

Emma had thought of both emotions.

With a flash of magical light, a small seam of yellow connecting to the boy was being sucked into the locket slowly, and once it stopped, it shut tightly with a snap, locking his magic in tightly and it seemed Regina was doing the same.

"Well done, ladies. Now let's get out of here before any of them wakes up. The sleeping curse only works when whoever cast the spell-" Blue-Dude pointed to Annie. "-is still intact with their magical capabilities. And all that is in the locket, so…"

"We have to get the hell out of here before they wake up because they can now?" asked Emma.

"Indeed."

They began to walk out of the treehouse, when they heard a croaky voice behind then.

"Too late."

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Being chased by little kids was _definitely not _the plan, and if somebody had told her that _this _was her future, she would have laughed her head off.

It was also surprising to see that they were pretty fast for their age.

The treehouse had expanded over the years, apparently, and there were so many rooms, hallways, torches alight with fire and celestial bronze swords hung on display that, while running with Blue-Dude and the rest of her associates, Emma didn't exactly have to ogle them like she had earlier.

The only thing that could possibly make it worse would be more magic involved.

The odds.

Balls aflame which were bomb-like in looks, came hurling towards the group at a click of a finger behind them, causing them to duck down which slowed down their pace. Regina and Emma attempted to arrange some sort of forcefield between the weapons and the people they wished to protect for now, while every time Robin flew an arrow at the weird defence system, it would explode with a sharp bang and more of those strange contraptions would appear out of nowhere.

Finally, the team of people escaping from the 7 and 8-year-old siblings of terror made it away from the attacks, and crossed swiftly to the left corridor next. Apparently, the children didn't see them pass, so they kept running, past them straight ahead.

The two who had previously been struggling to deteriorate the attacks on the other side of the forcefield using their magic were quite plainly tired, and in the heat of the moment, with heavy hearts, continued walking with heavy breathing as if they'd run a mile.

Oh wait, they did.

After the heat had died down and the search for any enemies lurking about had returned to a tinge of suspicion, someone finally began to talk.

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**I guess this is just a filler chapter ;p; Oh well. Anyhow, hope you guys are doing well, as I feel really tired after camp and all. xD please give this story some love if you will, and fav/follow! **

**Reviews are like Krispy Kremes~**

**O3u (Kawaiifacejustfoyou ^^)**


	3. Tre: might allow you to realise

**A/N: AND VE ARR BAHK! I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR SOME BITCH-SLAPS AND LOVEY-DOVIES!**

**Disclaimer: NADA OWN. NOR PROFIT. (SAD FACE MEW MEW)**

**(I just want to start. Very heartfelt, I'm sorry. ;p;)**

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…

"Excuse me," prodded the man in blue. "But if I am mistaken, you are the product of True Love, correct?"

Emma looked to her right to see the man staring down at her as they walked at a slow pace. "Yeah, why?"

"It was heard from all the realms, Princess. But spare me, do I really need a reason?" he teased.

"You saved us for no particular one, so I guess not."

A few minutes later as they walked through a new corridor to the left, he niticed the necklace she was wearing.

The man nodded towards it. "Sentimental charm I presume."

The blonde answered stiffly as her grip on Killian's old necklace with the cross and ship upon it became tighter. What was this guy up to? "Maybe."

"You know, you can answer truthfully. I don't bite-"

"-not that I know of." Muttered Ruby.

"-and all I want is to be a good helper. You owe it to me, as this dashing rapscallion just saved your lives." He pointed to himself smugly. All that earned him was an eye-roll and a push of a shoulder.

"What, am I that much of an open book?" she asked sarcastically.

He faced her with a silence that seemed to last forever and a day.

"…Yes."

They continued to walk through the halls.

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"Women… cannot… be trusted." Blue-Guy gasped in horror. He had just recovered from trying to slay a mighty giant. He had set a plan for them all; Regina, Ruby and Robin to prepare the special sleeping powder, much like the one Emma and Hook had used on the beanstalk, and the guy would distract him while Emma looked around the room intently for a map, or book of some sort. The saviour cringed. All thinking of Killian would do would make her miserable and vulnerable, and that wasn't the way she liked to do things. She liked control.

So Emma disarrayed the guy's plan and disengaged him of his duties, while _she _distracted the colossal man. She had almost gotten herself killed when the giant made a swipe with his hand to grab her, but instead Blue-Dude was the one to become blue - quite animatedly looking like his clothes - of being strangled. Apparently thirty seconds could be a long time for him to try to breathe.

Luckily, Regina had come to the rescue and sprinkled the golden dust upon the giant, while he fell to the ground with a thud, unconscious.

It had taken Emma a whole minute to process what he had just said.

"What is that supposed to mean, you sexist jerk?!" exclaimed Emma furiously.

"Why didn't you just-" he wheezed and coughed for a moment. "-follow the plan?"

"Why the hell could you have just left me to handle him? I'm not six, I don't need help, and I've been trained for defence and attack from the best around. Why wait?" she asked irritably with an eye twitching in the idiot's direction as she helped him up from the dust floor and out of the giant's clutches.

Emma was really glad the rest of her friends weren't getting involved, or else this would've gotten way messier.

"Because for one, I'm a gentleman, and second of all, I sacrifice my life for others. I'd rather die than become a selfish-"

"-that has absolutely nothing to do with it!" exclaimed the blonde. "I don't know what you have against women rights to fight! Not every battle's a man's battle, you know." She had a point, the man noticed briefly, but he did something so vile that even Rumplestitskin would dare to do.

"That necklace was someone you loves', wasn't it?" Bitter, uncomfortable silence.

"Your point being?"

"They're not here, not alive anymore?"

"Quite perceptive." Emma noted with distaste.

"Not the deal here, but I'll take that as a yes." He stood on his foot on a challenging stance.

"I bet you don't care about them anymore, do you, now that they're gone, you don't have to deal with them. I bet you didn't even see them getting buried."

"How did you-"

"Know?" the man sneered eerily. "Perceptive, you told me."

A flare of rage erupted inside of her. Emma saw blood red in her vision at the fucking nerve of him. Who the hell did he think he was, talking to her like that? How does he think her brain works, or does he just treat her like a stereotypical girl?

She'd have enough.

"You asshole!" the fuming woman slapped the smirk off his face. "Who the bloody shit do you think you are!"

"I loved him!" she shouted in his face. "I-I loved him."

_No Emma, don't put your guard down! _Screamed Emma's head. The banshee-like noise shrieked in her ears, but her brain didn't seem to function, and she replied brokenly.

"He meant the world to me. I didn't get to do or say what I wanted to before he left. And it made things even worse when he became the brave idiot he was and set out to find those stupid kids, only to die." She shoved the man (who now had a red hand-mark adorning his cheek, thanks to her) to the side roughly as the rest of the group watched her intently.

"He would've died for me, something you would _never _have done. You don't have the guts to even think about it." She spat, walking forwards, leaving him behind her. "You can die, too, for all I care!"

Silence behind her notified her as success that her message was received.

Well, at least for a while.

"_As you wish."_

Emma stopped on the spot in shock.

"What?" she asked steadily after a pause, listening hard. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

She could literally _hear _the smirk in her voice as he pronounced every syllable.

"_As...you…wish."_

She turned around entirely to the others surprised and ran up to him with unshed tears in her eyes.

During all that time crying, and reminiscing, and many tubs of ice cream with The Notebook playing, he was alive?!

Emma felt both relieved and slightly pissed, because who _wouldn't _be angry after your boyfriend is gone for a solid two years without notice of him until he's pronounced _DEAD, _then shows up again like it's nothing_?!_

"You sneaky pirate _bastard!" _she sobbed as she removed the black mask to reveal Killian's eyes, as ocean blue as she'd remembered years ago. "I thought- I had-"

Her tears made wet marks on his shirt as Emma embraced him with a force of a bull. "I fucking hate you, you asshole."

Killian slipped his hook-less brace around her middle with a smug grin, hugging her back. "I'm touched, I love you too."

"This conversation isn't over," she settled her head in the crook of his neck mock-sternly. "You still need to explain yourself and where you've been for all this time."

"Indeed I will, love." And so he broke the hug and sent familiar sparks down Emma's body as she went in for a long, sweet kiss of unification, love, passion and sadness, but it wasn't thoughtless. Pent up feelings were there, no doubt, but nothing could stop the instant whiz of magical power through the air, which passed through everyone swiftly as the two broke away.

Of course, it was cute and everything to be reunited by you True Love and everything, but that magic could seriously lead the two little twerps to them immediately.

Ruby stepped in cautiously. "Look, you guys are adorable and everything, but can we save this for another time, when we _aren't _being chased by those psycho kids after that shockwave of magic will now let them know where we are?"

Killian nodded, and grabbed Emma's hand before running forwards, yanking a laughing girlfriend behind him.

"Stupid lovestruck teenagers," Regina rolled her eyes at the couple in front of them. "They're going to get us killed!"

"C'mon, let them have their fun Your Maje- I mean Regina." Robin stammers at the former evil queen's sharp glare. "Anyhow, love is a special thing, so you have to grasp onto it when you have the chance." He looks over at Killian and Emma with a weak, thoughtful smile.

"Ugh, so lovey-dovey. Let them find a room, because I don't even _know _what would've happened if a love potion was involved. I don't even want to know."

"Well, _actually, _Regina-" the pickpocket coughed awkwardly.

"NEVERMIND." And so the queen walked off with a small blush on her face with a Robin with an amused glint in his eyes trailing behind her.

In front of the flushed queen and archer, and forward Ruby at the back, planning the twos' wedding already, Emma and Killian were discussing where he'd been.

"Well, love, it wasn't easy spend a whole two years in separation with you, no doubt, after being gone from you the last two times as well." He settled her hair behind her should like he always did, especially when he was nervous. She really missed that.

"After the vessel we were using was attacked by those small scoundrels of children like Pan, they used their magic to fake my death."

"Magic's involved with _everything," _Emma muttered irritably at the ground.

"And they sent away my mates who were with me with a message; _the notorious Captain Hook is dead, with his hook as proof! _After that, Jack and Annie held me hostage, asking for answers on ways of transport." Killian shook his head bitterly. "Like that hasn't happened before."

"Anyhow, the little twits failed, as I am forever loyal on my word, and gave up on me, throwing me out of their blasted treehouse. Apparently the current land we were on was Camelot, where Merlin was as well, I'd hoped, and so I'd gone to him for help. And _bloody hell, _it's so difficult to do things without my hook. When I reached Merlin, I was taught –and can you bloody believe it? - magic!"

The man opened his right hand, and what sat in the palm in his hand were sharp blades of ice and water, to which he smirked at Emma's amazed expression.

"But it came with a price. I told him of whom I'd want to come back to if I'd ever be to return to my former home, to the people I love" he blushed a bit. And Killian most certainly does not blush mind you. "He finally accepted and understood my circumstances, and I became his newest protégé with magic, potions, and medicines in the kingdom, and also was to become his newest - and only, mind you - pirate mate. Morgan came in to teach, now and then with Teddy, her helper, and discussed about Jack and Annie's adventures before they turned on them."

"Travelling with only a, '_I wish I could go there' _and they would be zapped there on their treehouse in disguise." He sighed in wonder and awe, but his expression hardened. "They were so ungrateful of what they had, and the lad and lass just-"

Emma patted his arm comfortingly. It soothed him down, and his shoulders relaxed after a breeze, and his tight clench of his fist lessened in time.

"They just... took it for granted and used it for bad form."

"It's okay," Emma said, once Ruby had claimed they'd found Henry's diary, full of pictures of Storybrooke. They were to depart soon in their home town, and the treehouse would disappear in mere minutes. "It's over now. You're safe, I'm safe, and everyone's going be happy you've come back, especially David, your _mate_." She adds teasingly.

"Fine, fine, but please tell me you still have my hook." Killian pleads childishly with a pout, as the whirring of the treehouse begins and stops suddenly, assuming their arrival in the town.

"Yes," the blonde rolls her eyes. "I still have it."

He loops an arm around her shoulder. "See, this is why I love you, Swan."

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**It's weird, this story's almost done. O.o It's like leaving Disneyland – "NYOOOO GUYS LET MEH JUST STAIIII HERE! I'LL SURVIVE! I HAVE FINGERNAILS AND SPARE PENCILS TO STAB PEOPLE WITH, I'LL BE FINE!"**

**So yeah.**

**Sorta.**

**Anyhow, this is the technical final chapter. I didn't even plan to do something like this, it was supposed to be a drabble! But you people loved it, and I kept going, and I saw where that brought me, so thanks guy for all the support and love for dis. ;p;**

**The next –and LAST – update will be by tomorrow, but I would appreciate it it you could leave some final reviews for me. As an author, your opinion means a lot to me, especially and weirdly enough, constructive criticism. I want to write better. And you can help! :D**

**Please drop a review.**

**Owu LOVE YOU GUIIIISSSS**


	4. Quattro: that maybe he'd never left

**A/N: You people are bloody amazing. Like, I don't even know.**

**I have no words, I'm sorreh.**

**Disclaimer: NOPE.**

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…

One day, after all of that was over, when everyone digested that he was alive, and was finished with the 'unification party' of the year, and when everything had finally settled down in Storybrooke, Killian finally admitted something to Emma.

She was snuggled tightly in his arms, giggling slightly as his beard light scratched her neck and his hands came to tickle her in the slightest while reading The Princess Bride on the couch in comfortable warmth.

He frowned slightly when his motions came to a halt. "'The Princess Bride, eh?'"

"Yep. Didn't you know, 'as you wish' equals 'I love you' to Westley and Buttercup?"

"Hmm, I had _no idea." _It seemed that Killian was almost evasive while commenting on Emma's statement.

She raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "_Killian…" _

"Alright, fine, love, you caught my bad form." He sighed mockingly. "In the moment when we first met, your mother gave me a book to keep me busy when you ladies made your 'master plan' for how you were to deal with me."

"It was called The Princess Bride, and, as I am quite the fast reader, I needed more, how do you say? Entertainment?"

"So she gave me this strange device to watch something called a 'movie', which apparently-" He pointed to the book his love was currently holding, "-based on the book. Even though I can't exactly pinpoint why watching something would be ever so good to be of pleasure to me to do, as I could be doing so many more things."

The weirdo wiggled his eyebrows suggestively while Emma rolled her eyes good naturedly.

Seconds passed in comfortable silence before it was broken once more.

"That's copyright." The saviour noted.

"I'm sure it is, lass, but where I come from, it's completely natural to be very gentlemanly and have mixed phrases." Killian smirked. He had a point, smug or not.

"Whatever, you idiot." Emma huffed.

"I'm _your _idiot, am I not?" he teased as he booped her nose from behind.

"Cheesy dork. I don't even know why I love you." She pushed away from him dramatically.

"I'm scarred forever in the heart, Swan." The pirate clutched his heart in the same manner. "Totally."

They laughed and smiled like nutcases for a while, but I presume that's how it would always be for them, like Westley and Buttercup.

A happy ending, what else?

But the knock of the door interrupted them, and as Elsa was, once again at their doorstep, there was a horrified look on her face.

"Emma, Henry's missing."

_~FIN~_

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**LEMME GET DIS STRAIGHT. **

**This chain of events is well after the finale, so Henry should very well be a teenager.**

**And you can most certainly not make me write more. THIS IS IT! YOU CANNOT CONVINCE MEEEEEEEE(hopefully) ANYMOREEE! (Well, unless you want to write the sequel. You'd have to PM me for permission, tho. I don't take kindly to people who take mah stuff.)**

**Lol. Anyhow, this is it. A big thank-you to all who read this now finished story, as it's a huge honour to have all of you do this for me. A bigger thank you to those who actually stuck around for the entire story, and who fav'd, followed, and reviewed. INTERNET HUG!**

**You hug awesomely.**

**...**

**(If you're interested, look at the chapter titles, and read them together. Do you remember 'Morgan's scroll' from one of the previous chapters? In the story, Jack and Annie were looking for this magical scroll which held a prophecy, a riddle, at that, of what was to happen to the people to destroy the reader. This was supposed to be part of the major plot, but I figured the story was fine as it was, and didn't include that bit. But, you know, it could be a good prompt for a could-be sequel ;D)**

**END.**


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